Integrated circuits (ICs) and other electronic devices often include arrangements of interconnected field effect transistors (FETs), also called metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), or simply MOS transistors or devices. A typical MOS transistor includes a gate electrode, as a control electrode, and source and drain electrodes, as current electrodes. A control voltage applied to the gate electrode controls the flow of current through a controllable conductive channel between the source and drain electrodes.
Power transistor devices are designed to be tolerant of the high currents and voltages that are present in power applications such as motion control, air bag deployment, and automotive fuel injector drivers. One type of power MOS transistor is a laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor (LDMOS) transistor. In an LDMOS device, a drift region is provided between the channel region and the drain region to sustain high voltage drop between the transistor source and drain across a relatively long distance.
Various LDMOS devices are designed for different applications. For example, some devices needs to sustain a high voltage drop, thus they are required to possess a high breakdown voltage. On the other hand, current conduction capability might be more crucial in some applications, thus making lowering of the device on-resistance a higher priority.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.